An Arizona sheriff's official says it's "a Christmas miracle" that searchers found a Pennsylvania woman and her family stranded in a snowy Arizona forest after their vehicle got stuck before a severe winter storm hit the area. Coconino County Deputy Jim Driscoll says 46-year-old Karen Klein was found exhausted at a closed Grand Canyon National Park early Saturday morning after she hiked 27 miles. Other searchers located her husband, Eric, and their 10-year-old son, Isaac, late Friday miles away at their rental vehicle, the AP reports.
The rental car got stuck Thursday when the family relied on an online mapping service to find an alternative route to the Grand Canyon's North Rim, where park services and the access highway are closed for the winter. Driscoll says Karen Klein tried to hike out of the forest by herself to get help because she's a triathlete and marathon runner and the family agreed she was in the best shape to make the attempt. She's hospitalized and being treated for exposure to cold. Eric Klein and the couple's son also are being treated for cold exposure, including frostbite.
Her cross-country hike lasted more than 24 hours, beginning Thursday afternoon and ending Friday afternoon, and she "kept moving to stay warm," Driscoll said.
The rental car got stuck Thursday when the family relied on an online mapping service to find an alternative route to the Grand Canyon's North Rim, where park services and the access highway are closed for the winter. Driscoll says Karen Klein tried to hike out of the forest by herself to get help because she's a triathlete and marathon runner and the family agreed she was in the best shape to make the attempt. She's hospitalized and being treated for exposure to cold. Eric Klein and the couple's son also are being treated for cold exposure, including frostbite.
Her cross-country hike lasted more than 24 hours, beginning Thursday afternoon and ending Friday afternoon, and she "kept moving to stay warm," Driscoll said.
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